During a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs, I said: I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Roche, for giving us such a wide briefing on what is happening around the world. I refer to an issue touched on by the Minister, namely, that of Sudan...

The EU had a large election observation mission in Sudan and it was good news that the elections last week appeared to have gone fairly well. The concern is that difficulties might yet erupt. Darfur is still a major problem and, as the Minister mentioned, the President, Mr. al-Bashir, is still wanted by the International Criminal Court.

After the election in Kenya a little more than a year ago, the ICC moved to seek those who were suspected of inciting the violence that took place there. Are we happy that the European Union is able to stay out of what is happening in Sudan? There is talk of a divorce between north and south. I do not know how the problem of Darfur will be solved because it will stay with the north under Mr. al-Bashir. The difficulties there will come back to us in Europe. We will not be able to stay away from them.

With regard to the General Affairs Council, the Minister of State spoke very competently about the Lisbon agenda and the things we are seeking to achieve in that area, one of which is increased competitiveness. This depends to a large extent on innovation and science. I fear that Europe is losing ground in this area.

I will mention one case, that of genetically modified organisms. There are now 25 countries and 40 million farmers around the world using GMOs, yet we are still taking a long time even to give permission. Last month, after 12 years, permission was given by the European Union for the first genetically modified crop. There are 17 other crops and 46 foods waiting for permission. We are behind the rest of the world.

It is a paradox that although genetically modified foods were invented in Europe, 99.9% of the production is occurring elsewhere. It is in the hands not just of Europe but of our Commissioner, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, who is responsible for innovation and science.

We cannot sit on our hands for too long and allow other parts of the world to take business from our citizens, our farmers and our industries. We must agree that we cannot waste any more time. We must do something to avoid being passed out by the rest of the world.

For a full record of the meeting, please click here.